I LOVE Blue Bell Ice Cream

Early references to a form of ice cream include the Roman emperor Nero (A.D. 37-68) who ordered ice to be brought from the mountains and combined with fruit toppings. And, over in China, sometime between A.D. 618 and 697 King Tang of Shang had a method of creating ice and milk concoctions. Over time, recipes for ices, sherbets, and milk ices evolved and was served in the fashionable Italian and French royal courts.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Governor Bladen of Maryland reportedly served it to their guests in the 1700's. In 1774, a London caterer named Philip Lenzi announced in a New York newspaper that he would be offering for sale various confections, including ice cream. Dolly Madison served it in 1812.

According to Wikipedia, the recipe for ice cream was published in Mrs. Mary Eales's Receipts in London in 1718:

"To ice cream.

Take Tin Ice-Pots, fill them with any Sort of Cream you like, either plain or sweeten'd, or Fruit in it; shut your Pots very close; to six Pots you must allow eighteen or twenty Pound of Ice, breaking the Ice very small; there will be some great Pieces, which lay at the Bottom and Top: You must have a Pail, and lay some Straw at the Bottom; then lay in your Ice, and put in amongst it a Pound of Bay-Salt; set in your Pots of Cream, and 93 lay Ice and Salt between every Pot, that they may not touch; but the Ice must lie round them on every Side; lay a good deal of Ice on the Top, cover the Pail with Straw, set it in a Cellar where no Sun or Light comes, it will be froze in four Hours, but it may stand longer; then take it out just as you use it; hold it in your Hand and it will slip out. When you wou'd freeze any Sort of Fruit, either Cherries, Rasberries, Currants, or Strawberries, fill your Tin-Pots with the Fruit, but as hollow as you can; put to them Lemmonade, made with Spring-Water and Lemmon-Juice sweeten'd; put enough in the Pots to make the Fruit hang together, and put them in Ice as you do Cream."

This pot-freezer method of making ice cream was a labor intensive operation. This made it a luxury reserved for special occasions. Prior to the development of modern refrigeration ice had to be harvested from lakes and ponds and stored in the ground or in ice houses.

The hand-cranked churn, first patented in the U.S. by Nancy Johnson on September 9, 1843 eventually replaced the pot-freezer method and produced a smoother product.

Prior to Jacob Fussell's construction of the first ice cream factory in Pennsylvania (1851), ice cream was made and sold by small businesses, mostly confectioners and caterers. Mass production reduced the cost of ice cream and added to its popularity.

From the mid nineteenth century to the early twentieth century street vendors would sell ice cream for a penny in a glass called a "penny lick". The customer would lick clean the glass and return it to the vendor, who would hopefully wash it before it was reused. However that was not always the case and questions of hygiene led to it's being banned and the development of the edible ice cream cone in 1896 by Italo Marchioni.

Ice cream is a rather complex substance that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has specific rules to define. First and foremost, it must contain at between 10 and 16 percent milk fat, and a minimum of six percent non-fat milk solids. Air has to be added to ice cream or it would be solid ice. With that being said a gallon must weigh at least 4.5 pounds.

Ice cream is a type of emulsion called a colloid. This basically means that two substances (molecules of fat and a water-sugar-ice structure) that don't normally mix together are combined. Air bubbles are added to the emulsion creating a foam. The higher the amount of air, the lower he quality of the finished product. As a general rule, the heavier the ice cream the less air and the higher the quality. Not only does a Blue Bell half gallon contain a full 64 fluid oz (compared to the 48 oz of many competitors), it weighs between 2 and 3lbs depending upon the flavor.

Ice cream also contains stabilizers that help hold the air bubble structure together and give the ice cream a better texture. That is the purpose of such things as xanthan gum, guar gum, and other chemicals compounds. Emulsifiers keep the ice cream smooth and aid the distribution of the fat molecules throughout the colloid. Egg yolks also act as emulsifiers in many recipes. In any case, these additives usually make up less than one percent of the ice cream.

First the base is created by combining milk, cream and sugar. This mix is then heated to kill any harmful bacteria (pasteurization). Now it's time to add flavoring. But any solids like nuts and fruit are added later. The mix is now ready to be whipped and frozen. This has to be done simultaneously and it is now that machines come into the picture. While the machine cools the mix to freezing, a dasher stirs the mix. The dasher whips air bubbles into the mixture, which gives ice cream its structure. The dasher also scrapes the sides of the container, clearing off ice crystals that would otherwise ruin the flavor and texture of the ice cream.

After the ice cream comes out of the machine it is time to add the larger ingredients such as fruit, nuts, cookies, candy and other goodies. The ice cream is then transferred to containers and frozen to zero degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Freezing it to this level quickly is important to keep large ice crystals from forming.

At a price of $129, for four half gallons, it's not cheap, but you can imagine that most of the cost is shipping. However, it is one way to get "the best ice cream in the country" to you or someone else who can't get it otherwise. It's going be tough to pick the 4 flavors that you're willing to enjoy at that price, so take your time going through the list of flavors on this lens.

All ice cream is shipped Federal Express for next day delivery. They're are set up to ship on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Gift pack orders can only be placed by phone and must be placed by 2:00p.m. Central Standard Time, the weekday prior to the shipping date. Visa, MasterCard, and Discover are accepted.

Click the picture to go to the order page. Good Luck and ENJOY!!